Chapter 1:
I can't even recognize myself. I look back into the mirror hoping to see the small child I know I am, but I don't. It's my first reaping and I don't know what to expect, I mean, I've been to all of the past ones, but I've never been a part of it. I guess it only gets worse as you get older. Every year another slip with your name is added, unless you sign up for tesserae, which gives you a small supply of extra oil and grain, with the price of more slips added. Of course, being the son of a victor pretty much eliminates the necessity of tesserae for my family. It is just my dad, Haymitch Abernathy, and I after all, and he barely eats anything. All he does is drink and sleep. Some of the other kids in the District can have their names in the reaping bowl upwards of 40 times. I take another quick glance in the mirror thinking about how lucky I am to not be in their shoes before going downstairs to see what Peeta, one of last years victors, brought for breakfast. As I reach the bottom of the steps a knock at the door diverts my attention from cheese buns to the visitor.
I look out the window and realize that Primrose Everdeen is patiently waiting on my doorstep. I crack the door a little bit and jokingly say,"Nobody is home, gone fishing."
"Very funny Leon, but fishing is in District 4. If you would have said gone mining I might have believed you," she says with a big smile on her face.
"So be it, what did you need Prim?"
"Well, Leon, I was wondering if I could talk to you alone. I mean about the reaping and stuff," she says nervously, "Maybe we could go to the meadow."
"Hmmm," I say stroking my chin between my thumb and pointer finger as if I was thinking hard about it. "I suppose I can fit you in my schedule, but I need to be at the square by three."
"Oh that's weird, me too," she replies with fake curiosity.
Keeping up the charade I ask, "What for, it can't possibly be the same thing I am going for."
"Oh it's nothing really, just going to see the next tribute who get the honor to represent District 12 in the Hunger Games," she responds, saying the last part in a silly Capitol accent.
"Well, I think your looking at the unlucky man, I think I am actually going to be picked," I say as we slowly work our way out of town towards the edge of the meadow by the Seam.
"Oh please, you would never get reaped."
"Yeah, because the Capitol absolutely loved that forcefield trick my dad pulled. Plus, you know they love the legacy in the Capitol. The kids of victors are always reaped, no matter the circumstances. The only good thing is that if I do get drawn it won't hurt as many people."
"What do you mean it won't hurt as many people," Prim asks inquisitively.
"I mean, my death would hurt my dad, but that's about it, nobody else depends on my survival, I don't help the District in any way, so it won't really hurt them either." I mutter quietly.
"Leon Abernathy, don't you ever ever say that again, you can't just assume that nobody would need you, so it's ok to die. Plus you won't get picked anyway, so it doesn't even matter," she says with a stern tone. That got me thinking, maybe I do have somebody else who cares about me, but just won't admit it.
"Ok fine, but I still think it's going to be me."
"Whatever," Prim replies. "Hey we should go make sure my brother and sister are ready,"she says enthusiastically
"Um don't you mean your sister and Peeta? I'm pretty sure you don't have a brother."
"Yeah, same thing," Prim says dismissively.
We trudge through the high grass in the meadow until we reach the narrow cobblestone street connecting the Seam, town, and the Victor's Village. After about ten minutes of walking I finally reach the front door of Prim's house. Prim left me in charge of making sure they were ready, because she had to go feed her pet goat. I reach for the door, but when I am about to twist the knob the door flies wide open. To my surprise I am standing face to face with the one and only President Snow.
Blood and roses. That is all I can smell is blood and roses.
"Ah hello young man. You must be young Mr. Leon Abernathy. Quite the looker just like your father was back in the day. I'm sure the Capitol will be quite interested in you," he says slowly as if to make sure I hear every word.
"Well the reapings haven't happened yet," I reply calmly.
"Oh my dear boy, but they have. I hate to ruin the suspense, but lets just say that you will certainly be joining 23 others in that arena in two weeks and you can't avoid it. But don't worry, being a fair president I will not give the orders to have you killed by the gamemakers. I believe in a level playing field," he says with a smirk.
"Level playing field my ass. You wouldn't know a fair chance if it hit you upside the head."
"Leon, you are young and have a lot to learn, but surely you are old enough to know that you shouldn't talk to me like that. Don't give me a reason to change my previous statement about the gamemakers." And with that he brushes past me without so much as a goodbye.
"What did he want from you," A familiar voice says from inside the house. I glance around the corner to find Peeta waiting patiently for Snow to get out of earshot.
"Well, I think he wanted my autograph, but I politely declined," I say jokingly to Peeta.
"Now isn't the time for jokes Leon, what did he want," said Peeta.
"He told me I was going to be reaped."
"Honestly, does it really surprise you," Peeta said. "Hell, I wouldn't doubt it if Prim was reaped with you."
"Well after what you guys did last year, she's pretty much a shoe in, but don't tell her I said that. She shouldn't have to worry about it," I say.
"Oh believe me, I'm not worried at all. We already planned ahead," Peeta replied.
"What did you do? Hire a Prim stunt double," I asked.
"The next best thing, I found a volunteer," he said proudly. Great, now I have to worry about the Careers from 1,2 and 4 plus the volunteer who is actually wanting to go into the games from my own district. How am I even going to stand a chance?
Peeta, sensing my lack of comfort with his decision says, "Don't worry, she only wants to help our cause."
"Our cause, what does that even..." Peeta quickly put his hand up to signal me to stop talking.
"You just need to worry about the reaping right now. Work on you appearance and posture, get the shock out of your system now so you can at least look strong during the recaps. You need to get sponsors, and lots of them," instructs Peeta.
I nod my head and quickly turn around. Due to my talk with Peeta and the president, I have about ten minutes to be in the square before I get in trouble.
"I have to go to the square and sign in now," I tell Peeta.
"I'll walk down with you," he replies.
"What about Katniss?"
"She was already in town and said she would meet me there," he says quickly.
After about 5 minutes of walking in silence I am bored, "What did Snow want from you," I ask Peeta.
"He wanted to make sure Katniss and I are still in love, because he wouldn't want the Capitol to think we were faking," he says with some anger in his voice.
"But your not," I say.
"Your right, I am not, but Katniss is, was... I don't even know. Sometimes she does and sometimes it feels like an act. I just wish I wasn't," he says. I can tell this really is hurting Peeta so I switched the topic.
"I bet you 5 coins that Effie's hair isn't pink this year."
"Are you kidding me," he replies. " The day Effie Trinket's hair isn't pink will be the day that you are president. And we both know that's not going to happen," he says humorously.
We arrive in the square and I am herded to the registration table.
"Hand," says the lady peacekeeper from behind the long white table. I give her my hand, and then she stabs my finger with a needle and presses my bloodied finger to the electronic DNA analyzer. She signals that I am clear to go, so I work my way through a large group of crying children and nervous parents before finding a group of my friends from school.
They were standing quietly in a group, waiting in silence to see if they will survive their first reaping. I already know that they will, I have a presidential guarantee. I slide in behind them not saying a word. A couple of them nod their head to acknowledge my presence, but none of them say hi.
I am about to break the silence when a bubbly Effie Trinket walks out on stage. "Hello and welcome, today we will be holding the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games. I would now like to introduce District twelve's past victors, Haymitch Abernathy, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen, two of which will be mentors for the games this year."
Effie finishes her introductions, which is followed by a short video of how thankful we should be for the Capitol and the Treaty of Treason, which is read by Mayor Undersee.
"Happy Hunger Games," Effie squeals,"and may the odds be ever in your favor." She approaches the girls reaping bowl on the left side of the stage and says ladies first. This has become a tradition for Effie as she believes it displays good manners to let women go first. She reaches deep into the bowl before finding a slip that meets her expectations.
"Primro...," Effie says before her sentence is cut off.
"I volunteer," a voice yells out from behind a crowd of 17 year old girls. This seems to rattle Effie a little, because this is the first volunteer District 12 has had in a very long time.
"I believe there is a certain procedure that must be followed, young lady," Effie says.
"It's fine Effie," the mayor says, "just let her do it."
"Fine," Effie responds harshly. "Please come up here and introduce yourself."
The girls slowly part allowing her to walk up to the stage. I can't see who it is from where I stand, but when she climbs the steps to the stage I do recognize her. It's Alayna Sawyer. She is pretty much as popular as it gets, even if she is from the Seam. She is probably the most athletic person in the district because of how fast she can run. Great, now I know that my district partner has a better chance of winning than I do.
Alayna introduces herself as Effie sweeps across the stage to the boys bowl.
"And now for he boys," she says in her Capitol accent. She sifts he hand through the sea of slips before pulling one. She clears her throat and says, "Kevin Sawyer."
Wait what, how did he get picked. I look up to see Alayna's reaction, knowing that Kevin is her brother. Her face is pale white as is Peeta's. This is definitely not what he planned for. Kevin, also in my grade, walks up the old wooden stairs to meet Effie and his sister. I can only imagine how their parents feel, and I can't stand it.
"Any volunteers," Effie asks the audience.
Before my mind can process what I am doing I shoot my hand up in the air. Relief fills the faces of both Alayna and Kevin as he walks back down the steps and returns to his friends. I walk calmly up to the stage, trying my hardest to project confidence to the cameras. I catch Peeta's eye and he gives me a reassuring smile. I guess I did the right thin after all. I then look over to my dad who is hunched over in his chair passed out. I guess he doesn't care if I go either.
Effie has me introduce myself before making Alayna and I shake hands. Alayna whispers her thanks as Effie tries to get an applause from the district for providing not one but two volunteers. To the credit of the district, she doesn't.
After Effie realizes that this was not the reaction she was hoping for, she quickly directs us to the entrance of the Justice Building, where we will say our goodbyes to friends and family. I am led down a hallway by a peacekeeper while Alayna is led down an identical hallway on the opposite side of the building.
"So how does this work," I ask the peacekeeper innocently.
He stops mid-stride to turn and face me. "You will get a maximum five minutes with each family member or friend, after 30 minutes you will be transported to the train station. After that, I know nothing."
As he finishes his sentence he points to an open door at the end of the hallway and says, "In there you will wait quietly for your visitors and you are not to make a scene. Every Capitol building has video and audio feeds on the inside, and we wouldn't want you to give the Capitol any reason to dislike you."
"Why are you helping me," I ask the man curiously.
He does not respond, but puts a finger to his lips. He then pulls out a wrinkled sheet of paper that says "same team" before quickly stuffing it back in his pocket.
"I am not helping you in any way," he says with mock authority in his voice. I understand now, he wants me to get out, because he must like me as a person. I guess the same thing applies to Peeta and Alayna. "Now go sit and wait in the room," he says.
I nod and enter the room. I locate a large couch, big enough to seat a family of seven and plop down on it. I am actually surprised that my emotions haven't gotten the best of me by now. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. The door creaks open and my first visitor walks in.
"Hey," says Prim quietly.
"Hey Prim, I'm so glad your not...," but before I can finish my sentence she sits next to me and gives me a hug.
"What you did was so brave Leon, why did you have to be so brave? I'm going to miss you, and I don't think I can deal with it," Prim says, tears running down her face.
"Primrose Everdeen, don't give up on me now. I am still alive, please don't kill me with guilt," I say with some humor.
A small smile forms on her face, "I know you can do it, Leon you have to win. I just wanted to say I think you... I mean I... Well if you...," she stutters.
"That's five," the Peacekeeper says from outside the door. I give Prim a reassuring hug and watch her leave.
I open the door and tell the Peacekeeper, "That felt a little bit longer than five minutes."
He smiles and says ,"It's not like you have a long line of people waiting to visit." And he is right, I look out the crack of the door, but I can't see anybody. I decide to go back to my couch and take a nap until somebody else comes in. Nobody does. The Peacekeeper wakes me up and directs me across the street outside to the train station. I knew where it was, but he insisted that he escort me in case I try to run away.
"Thanks," I say to the Peacekeeper as I am boarding the tribute train, " Oh, by the way, what's your name?"
"Name is Boggs, and your welcome. Good luck," he says. And with that, the metal train doors slide closed as we slowly roll out of the station. I walk over to the window closest to me and watch my home slowly fade away.
A/N: yes, this is very similar-ish to a previous story I wrote and stopped working on. I decided to change the title, characters names and some of the plot. I didn't really like my other story, but I think this version is better anyway. Please REVIEW. Criticize, or tell me what you liked, I want to hear from you!